Peafowl Care Tips
Here I have gathered some information and tips for raising your own peafowl. These come from my own personal routines and experiences as well as from things I have heard or read. If you do choose to raise peafowl, please do not go only on what I have posted here, but also consult other sources to make sure you have the best and most complete information available.
Peafowl can be raised effectively both in fenced areas as well as roaming free. This choice will most likely depend on your circumstances, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages.
Leaving your peafowl the ability to freerange can provide you with many enjoyable hours of watching them roam and interact with their surroundings. However, this is not always a good option. If you have many roads near where you plan to set the birds free, it's always a possibility that one may be hit. (I've also heard tell that peafowl like to stand in front of or on top of cars, which may cause you problems with some of your neighbors.) Another thing to consider is what other animals are around. Natural predators such as wolves, coyotes, foxes, and even hawks and large owls can prey on peafowl. You should also beware of dogs, even if they are your own pets and have never caused any problems. I know, from very unfortunate personal experience, dogs can and will go after peafowl, so this should be considered before letting peafowl roam free.
When introducing new peafowl to an area, after they are first purchased, it is advisable to keep them in pens for at least a few weeks so they can get used to the area and know where to be fed. Even so, some birds may wander off and not return.
Keeping peafowl in pens is a safer option in most cases. A large, tall pen should be constructed. Think of the male during mating season, those feathers get quite large and take up a lot of room! Make sure that the birds have plenty of room to move around, how would you like to be cooped up in a small space? The cage should be rather tall, and at least one roost should be provided. Peafowl like to sleep in trees in the wild, so they will want to sleep in the air in the pen. There should also be a covered shelter to protect them from bad weather and give them a little privacy. Peafowl can fly, so the whole pen should have netting or some sort of cover on top of it so they can't fly out.
Wild peafowl have an omnivorous diet, and peafowl that are allowed to roam will scavenge for many things on their own. They should, however, be supplied with food at all times. Different types of bird pellets and grains are some of the options, but check around locally to see what is available. I provide my birds with a mixture of game bird feed and cracked corn, which they seem to enjoy. Peafowl also need at least 20% protein to be healthy and reproduce well. (This number is debatable. I have seen some peafowl enthusiasts suggest as high as 32% protein, while some get by with lower. Twenty percent seems to be a safely agreed upon middle ground.) Dry cat food is a great source of it, but dry dog food also works, however it has less protein. During the summer, free ranging fowl and ones that have large pens with lots of vegetation can get most of their necessary protein from insects and other bugs that they eat. However, in winter, some type of protein supplement is especially necessary. Peafowl will also eat a number of other treats and table scraps, you can experiment in small amounts to see what your birds like. My peafowl like occasional treats of sweet corn, apples, and lettuce. If peafowl are on raised pens, you should provide them with vegetation as well as grain. My peafowl are especially partial to clover and dandelion leaves. Clean water should also be provided at all times, and special medication can be added to it to prevent different diseases.
More tips coming soon. If you have a tip you would like me to add, please email me at AmyAmyM@aol.com.
